Android Auto finally gets the Gemini upgrade we've been waiting months for

Google is updating Android Auto to include its smarter AI-powered voice assistant Gemini. It replaces Google Assistant and should boost the in-car voice experience, thanks to better understanding of natural language.

Voice control seems to be taking over the world of tech – from smart speakers to conversational chats with your phone, AI is driving an explosion in the power of voice. But there's one place where voice control makes a lot of sense – in your car.

Voice control is not new to cars. For years, it was offered by many manufacturers and resulted in a wooden and restrictive system that was not just limited in scope, it was frustrating too. I can't count the number of times I tried to use voice for navigation and was told the destination didn't exist, or the number of times I called the wrong person because of clunky understanding.

Google Assistant changed that and with Android Auto a feature of most modern cars, it's been easier than ever to use voice to message, call, navigate and control the media in your car. Gemini will supercharge that experience, with greater understanding, greater access to information, and hopefully a smoother experience.

Gemini has long been anticipated for Android Auto. Following the universal rollout of the AI assistant to Android phones and tablets, it's slowly been making its way into other Google systems, like Google Maps and Google Lens. But for drivers, this is G Day, the moment that everything changes (I hope).

According to 9to5Google, an increasing number of Android Auto users are now reporting the change. It appears that beta users are the first to get it – I don't yet have it on the non-beta Android Auto 15.5 that I have on my Pixel 10 Pro, but it's likely that it will take some weeks to appear.

As Google has so far said nothing about the change to Gemini, we also don't know if this is going to be a regional thing. While those in the US are sure to the be first to get it, it's likely that it's going to update for all users where Gemini is available.

According to the details, the "Hey Google" hotword still works, but if you're a Gemini Live user, you can reportedly trigger that with "let's talk live". Gemini on Android Auto will translate messages incoming and outgoing.

The arrival of Gemini might be met with mixed responses. While the AI voice system from Google has much greater scope than the Google Assistant that it replaces, some of the basic tasks that Assistant was great at have taken a long time for Gemini to master.

Redditors highlight that Gemini has often failed with a basic command like "call Mom", which Google Assistant had no problem with. That extends to the slow path towards controlling other apps and services. One confirmed loss in the introduction of Gemini is that it no longer supports nicknames.

We're looking forward to trying it for ourselves though, when the rollout hits our cars, too.